35 Peace Monuments in Spain & Portugal

Right click image to enlarge.

1760's? - Plaque in statue of peace, Fountain of the charity, Santuário do Bom Jesus do Monte, Tenões, Braga (Portugal). Text: "PAX. Pax fratribus et charitas cum fide. RPH. G. 21" / "PEACE. Peace to the brothers and love with faith" [Google translation].

1814 - El tres de mayo de 1808 en Madrid / The Third of May 1808, Museo del Prado, Madrid (Spain). By Francisco Goya [1746-1828].

1814 - "Tampoco / No More." By Francisco Goya [1746-1828]. Etching from Los Desastres de la Guerra / The Disasters of War.

1892 - Statue of Juan Luis Vives, National Library of Spain, Madrid (Spain). Sculpted in Italian white marble by Pere Carbonell Huguet [1854–1927]. Juan Luis Vives [1492–1540] was a Valencian Spanish scholar and humanist, known as "Valencia's Erasmus." See bust in Bruges (Belgium).

1910 - PAX / Peace Monument, Zaragosa (Spain). Honors Basilio Paraíso Lasús [1849-1930] who led Exposición Hispano-Francesa / Spanish-French Exposition in 1908. Has the city's lion & two naked charibs on top & bas reliefs of peaceful scenes on the sides. 1910 NUDES FAIRS

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December 13, 1925 - Frank A. Miller Testimonial Peace Tower & Friendshp Bridge, Mount Rubidoux, Riverside, California (USA). "Erected...in recognition of his constant labor in the promotion of civic beauty, community righteousness & world peace." Frank Augustus Miller [1857-1935] founded the Mission Inn in Riverside & Institute of World Affairs (which is now the World Affairs Council of Inland Southern California). Tower bears the names & coats of arms of all nations as of 1925. Bridge is replica of the Alcántara bridge in Spain. 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 48-49. Entry #111 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

April 26, 1937 - Gernikako Arbola / Oak of Guernica, Guernika-Lumo (Spain). Unintentional monument. Survived the bombing of Guernica on April 26, 1937.

1937 - Guernica, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid (Span). Painted by Pablo Picasso [1881-1973]. Commisisoned by the government of Spain for the Paris International Exposition. Full sized copy at the United Nations in New York City.

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1940 - Padrão dos Descobrimentos / Monument to the Discoveries, Tagus Estuary, Lisbon (Portugal). "Celebrates Portuguese who took part in the Age of Discovery, or the Age of Exploration, of the 15th and 16th centuries. Located where ships departed to their often unknown destinations. A 52 metre-high slab of concrete carved into the shape of the prow of a ship. Side facing away from the river has a carved sword stretching the full height of the monument. Conceived by Portuguese artists, architect Cottinelli Telmo and sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida [1898-1975], as a temporary beacon of the Exposição do Mundo Português / Portuguese World Fair in 1940."

1992 - Portuguese Navigators Monument, Brenton Point, Newport, Rhode Island (USA). "Oceanfront monument celebrating world navigators." "Representative of an armillary sphere, an ancient navigational instrument used by the explorers and still displayed today on the flag of Portugal." Also "a sphere representing the three fourths of the world that the Portuguese navigators discovered."

1970 - "ANC Liberty March against Apartheid," Monte Palace Tropical Garden, Funchal, Autonomous Region of Madeira (Portugal). "A [bronze] statue by Hungarian sculptor Zoltan Borbereki [1907-1992] commemorates the involvement of the African National Congress (ANC) in the struggle against South African apartheid. Credit: Creative Commons/Allie Caulfield/Zoltan Borbereki." Information courtesy of Tikkun Magazine, Summer 2015.

March 21, 1980 - "Relief of Friendship," Peace Symbols Zone, Nagasaki Peace Park, Nagasaki (Japan). From Porto, Portugal (Nagasaki's sister city). Inscribed, "Homage of the City of Porto to the Atomic Victims of the Sister city of Nagasaki --November 1978."

1981 - Postage stamp (Spain). Depicts "Guernica" painted by Pablo Picasso in 1937 (qv).

1987 - Monumento a la Paz, Guernica (Spain). Created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1937 bombardment of the town. "Simboliza una casa, una familia. Sus dos paredes representan a los padres, que dan cobijo y protección. A través del hueco de su apertura-ventana, se ilumina un árbol-escultura que se encuentra en el interior de la escultura-casa... Su autor es el escultor de Donosti (San Sebastián), Eduardo Chillida [1924-2002]."

1987 - Manos / Hands, Madrid (Spain). Mario Irarrázabal’s sculptures of a hand in search of liberty.

1987 - A LA PAZ / To Peace, Plaza Armada Española, Valencia (Spain). "Obra del escultor valenciano José Esteve Edo, fue inaugurada en 1987. Se trata de un alto obelisco de forma prismática (16 metros de altura); en cuyo coronamiento se encuentra una paloma y tres relieves con cada uno de los escudos que forman la Comunidad Valenciana. El monumento está dedicado a los trabajadores del Puerto de Valencia que tuvieron que sufrir los constantes bombardeos durante la Guerra Civil Española. // En la base del monumento que se encuentra en el centro de una pequeña alberca y rodeada por una pequeña zona ajardinada, tres relieves en bronce alegóricos a la paz. El primero de ellos escenifica los desastres habidos en el Puerto durante los bombardeos de la Guerra Civil, el segundo bronce representa al esfuerzo y al trabajo como sostén de la Paz y el tercero los frutos de la Paz: el amor, la cultura y el ocio. // En el obelisco, grabado en la piedra, bajo un escudo de la ciudad figura la siguiente inscripción: "Monument a la Pau. 10 de noviembre de 1987. Ajuntament de Valencia". // En otro lugar una placa colocada a posteriori dice: Visita de las Brigadas Internacionales al Monumento de la Paz, en el 60 aniversario 1936-1996 de su lucha por la paz la democracia y la libertad. Valencia Noviembre 1996. La comisión." 1987 DOVES

Date? - Monumento "Por la Paz," Jardin de Floridablanca / Garden of Floridablanca, Barrio del Carmen, Murcia (Spain). "The great work of the civil district of Murcia for its history and size is the Jardín de Floridablanca, the first public garden of Spain." "I think that the best thing about the photograph is the dove who is inn [sic] at the top of the monument. The dove, the symbol par excellence of peace. For those times, and the conflicts that still exist in the world, is this photo."

November 7, 1991 - Garden for Peace #3, Real Jardin Botanico / Royal Botanical Garden, Madrid (Spain).

1992 - "Monumento a la Paz," Parque Juan Carlos I, Madrid (Spain). By sculptor Yolanda d'Augsburg (born 1942 in Brazil, works in Spain).

1995? - Monumento a la Paz, Ibiza, Islas Baleres (Spain). By Picasso? Left side of fountain says: PEACE, PACE, PAX, PAU.

Date? - Parque y Fuente de la Paz, Ibiza, Islas Baleres (Spain).

April 7, 1998 - Gernika Peace Museum, Foru Plaza,1. E 48300 Gernika-Lumo (Spain). "The Museum may be considered as a history museum in the sense that it was used as a guide to the history of Gernika-Lumo and, more particularly, to the Civil War and the bombing." Site of 5th International Conference of the International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP) in 2005 (right image). Left image shows the museum's facade on Foru Plaza. Member of International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

Date? - Reproducción en cerámica del Guernica de Picasso - Ceramic reproduction of Guernica by Picasso, on a street in Guernica (Spain).

1998 - Monumento a la Paz y a la Concordia / Monument to Peace and Agreement, Plaza de la Vírgen, Valencia (Spain). By José Puche. A homage to the victims of terrorism. An inscription quotes Juan Luis Vives [1493-1540]: "Peace and harmony are daughters of reason and mind." Un homenaje a las victimas del terrrorismo. Una inscripción dice: "La Paz y la Concordia son hijas de la razon y de la mente".

Date? - Parque da Paz / Peace Park, Almada (Portugal). Called the 'lung' of the city. "Created by the City Hall of Almada to provide the municipally with one of the best urban parks in the country, designed by architect Sidónio Pardal. Expected you 60 hectares of green area, made up of different spaces, some large, others more private, which make us lose all sense of time. Climb the stairs of schist and granite that winds from the car parking. At the top, turn left and take the time to appreciate the smell of camp [sic], the flight of butterflies, the birds pose, the sun baths of the reptiles..." Almada is immediately south of Lisbon on the other side of the Rio Tejo.

1998 - Rotary Peace Monument, Valadolid (Spain). One of several similar monuments inspired by the Rotary Club of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales (Australia).

Date? - Monumento Rotario a la Paz (Pau), Manresa (Spain). "Como Administradores de las Fiestas de la Luz de Manresa, el R.C Manresa-Bages ha inaugurado un Monumento a la Paz (Pau) en una de las entradas a la ciudad de Manresa y hará donación a la Ciudad de este Monumento Rotario que simboliza el espiritud de paz de toda la ciudad."

December 10, 2000 - Museo de la Paz en la Vall d'Uixó / Peace Museum in Vall d'Uixó, Museu de la Pau, Centre Cultural Palau de Vivel, Vall d'Uixó, Castellón (Spain). Member of International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

February 2003 - Campana de la Paz / World Peace Bell, Alcobendas, Madrid (Spain). One of 22 bells placed in 15 different countries of the World Peace Bell Association (WPBA0 of Tokyo (Japan). Left image courtesy of WPBA.

2005 - Monumento de Derechos Humanos / Human Rights Monument, Murcia (Spain). Inscribed for Centario del Diario la Verdad 1905-2005 Century of the Journal of Truth 1905-2005.

2005 - Monumento de la Paz, Sayalonga, Málaga, Andalucia (Spain). A statement against the Spanish Civil War by artist Plací de Gaona. "This monument is on the road to the pretty village of Sayalonga. Its structure & roses that surround it are worth visiting."

Date? - Arco Iris por la Paz / Rainbow for Peace, near Visma, La Coruña, Galicia (Spain). Honors the victims of terrorism. "This is the actual title of the sculpture. Undoubtedly, at the appropriate point. A beautiful place."

Date? - "Window to the Ocean," near Visma, La Coruña, Galicia (Spain).

2007 - Centro de Interpretación y Sensibilización para la Paz / Interpretation Centrer for Peace & Awareness (CPAZ), Plaza del Altozano, Albacete (Spain). "Se localiza en un antiguo refugio antiaéreo de la Guerra Civil que data de 1937, está situado en la Plaza del Altozano y cuenta con cinco pasillos y 20 hornacinas orientadas a la exposición e información dinámica de la acción de paz. Al mismo entrar al centro se encuentra el pasillo de las exposiciones temporales que contará con una programación estable."

August 2008 - Monumento a la Sardana / Monument to the Sardana, La Sardana Circus, Montjuic, Barcelona (Spain). Statue of dancers holding hands by Josep Cañas. "La Sardana is a typical Catalan dance, and this is its monument." There must be a very similar monument on the beach (right image).

March 20, 2011 - Monument to GLBT People, Ciutadella Park, Barcelona (Spain). "The triangular slab slants slightly upward toward the observer, with an inscription in Catalan that reads, 'In memory of the gays, lesbians & transexual persons who have suffered persecution and repression throughout history, Barcelona 2011." Mayor Jordi Hereu dedicated [the] granite triangle framed in pink... The location was a compromise after the Roman Catholic Church raised a ruckus over the proposed installation of the memorial in the immediate vicinity of Antoni Gaudi's famed Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, which is also the city's number one tourist attraction."

June 15, 2013 - Paraboloide," Parque Johan Galtung, L'Alfàs del Pi, Alicante (Spain). "Sculptural piece five meters in length & 4.55 ton. Erected in front of the Norwegian Cultural Center (now under construction)." /// "Today Alfaz Mayor Vicente Arques unveiled a monument by the famous Basque sculptor Agustin Ibarrola in memory of the victims of the Oslo & Utoya terrorist attacks [on July 22, 2011]. The monument is located in a park named in honor of a long time Alfaz resident, Prof. Johan Galtung, Norwegian by birth & known as ‘the father of peace studies.’" /// "L'Alfàs del Pi has the highest proportion of Norwegian speakers of any settlement anywhere in the world outside of Norway."

Future - Centro Internacional de la Paz de Barcelona / Barcelona International Peace Centre (BCP), Castell de Montjuic / Montjuic Castle, Barcelona (Spain). "An active space for peace building & Culture of Peace interpretation." Owned 60% by the city, 20% by the Spanish government & 20% by the Ministry of Defense. Site of the 7th International Conference of Museums for Peace on May 4-7, 2011. Project led by Jordi Capdevila, a consultant in international relations and governance. "Montjuic castle has overlooked Barcelona since 1640 and is very closely connected to the city's historical memory. Lluís Companys [1882-1940], president of the Generalitat de Catalunya during the onset of civil war in Spain, was executed here." Lower image shows the statue of a naked woman honoring Gaspar de Portolà [1716-1784], 1st governor of California (USA).